American Values ...

WE THE PEOPLE: The 500-Year Battle Over Who Is American by Ben Railton is part of the American Ways Series from Rowman & Littlefield. Railton is Professor of English Studies and Coordinator of American Studies at Fitchburg State University in Massachusetts.  In this new text he provides a general introduction, noting that ‘we’ is “an ambiguous pronoun” which has “consistently moved between two poles,” an exclusionary one and an inclusive one. Railton then uses eight chapters to discuss specific “case studies” from the history of the Americas, such as the Conquistadors, later Indian removal, Chinese exclusion, Japanese internment and discrimination against Muslims to illustrate his points, often by citing actions AND reactions of lesser known figures. The xenophobic and white supremacist comments he includes from the 1920s are chilling. Of course, this is also such a timely topic – The New York Times recently ran an article on What Makes an American? and today published a story on changing policy relative to green card holders.  

Although Railton clearly favors one perspective, he advocates for greater understanding and notes a significant number of sources, many of which, like Roger Daniels’ Coming to America, are in our collection and used frequently.  One that Railton neglected to mention is A Place at the Table by Maria Fleming which is similar in that it discusses (although much more briefly) several of the same examples of exclusionary practices in a generally chronological format. Also worth noting is Linda R. Monk’s use of numerous primary sources (and again, a chronological presentation) in her text titled Ordinary Americans that looks more at everyday experiences. Overall, Railton’s additional suggestions appear especially useful in that they encompass a number of publishers and relatively recent titles.  

JEFFERSON, MADISON, AND THE MAKING OF THE CONSTITUTION by Jeff Broadwater is a newly published work from The University of North Carolina Press. Broadwater is an historian who has written texts about James Madison, George Mason and also about other revolutionary founders. This latest work is clearly well-researched (roughly a fourth of the book is notes and source lists) and likely to be of interest to faculty members. Broadwater makes the points “neither Jefferson nor Madison got the Constitution that he really wanted” and offers a thorough exploration of the two men’s “evolution of thought,” particularly in the context of events between 1776 and 1789. 

I originally requested  a preview of this title because I thought it might be used in our Civics classes in order to probe some of the history and concepts related to the Constitution.  Unfortunately, I think Broadwater’s text is too dense and assumes too much prior knowledge of American history (on the part of our students) to be useful in that way for high school classes. Other academics and historians are more likely to appreciate his work in comparing and contrasting these two statesmen, debating, for example Broadwater’s summary comment: “Jefferson left a more profound imprint on the American psyche. Madison made a greater impact on American law.”

Love Thy Neighbor by Ayaz Virji

As you read those words this week, what ideas and traits did they bring to mind?  Courage ... Grit ... Resilience? All dispositions we try hard to foster in our students and ones which are certainly exemplified by Ayaz Virji, author of LOVE THY NEIGHBOR. His book relates far too many stories of bias and prejudice which he, his wife, and, even sometimes, his young children experienced.

Having graduated from Georgetown University School of Medicine almost 20 years ago, Virji spent close to fifteen years in private practice in Pennsylvania before deciding to move his family to Dawson, Minnesota (about three hours from the Twin Cities). As chief of staff and head of the medical clinic, he answered a call to ease the doctor shortage in rural America. The family are the only Muslims in the area, but they become a part of the community - the children (Faisal, Imran, and Maya) settle at school and Musarrat, his wife, opens her own business. Having felt welcomed and accepted, Virji's reaction to Trump's election is even more emotional when he learns how sixty-five percent of that Minnesota county voted for Trump. Gradually, he realizes that the situation is an opportunity for learning - about the voters' motives (e.g., high medical bills, animosity towards Clinton) and about religion.

Pastor Mandy, an intern at Grace Lutheran Church in Dawson, invites Virji to speak to the community. They title the talk "Love Thy Neighbor" and this book, co-written with Alan Eisenstock, relates the content and context of that lecture. The text is very informative; Virji uses statistics as well as passages from the Bible and from the Quran to support his points about terrorism being separate from Islam, about the role of women, and about Sharia Law. He begins by saying, "I want to talk from love and humanity and diversity. These are the premises of your faith. You know that very well. These are the premises of my faith. These are the premises of every faith."
 

LOVE THY NEIGHBOR received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. It is worth a read and made me think of other memoirs that prompt readers to reflect on their life's purpose, including Randy Pausch's The Last Lecture and Khizr Khan's An American Family. 

Internment by Samira Ahmed

INTERNMENT by Samira Ahmed is a must-read novel set in the near future where seventeen year-old Layla Amin and her family – all American citizens – are sent to an internment camp that, ironically, lies not too far from Manzanar. Surrounded by an electrified fence, Layla and other detainees are forced to live in surplus FEMA trailers, eat at the Mess, attend meetings at the Hub auditorium and listen to limited information from their media units.  When Layla first arrives at the camp and sees all of the guards, guns and watchtowers, she muses, “I wonder what else they’ve built.  What else can they do to us when America isn’t looking?”  Gradually, a small group of teens begin non-violent resistance actions and manage, with the help of a few sympathetic guards, to get the word out about what is happening at Camp Mobius.

It’s a disheartening and disorienting experience; one where finding an inner strength is a constant battle.  As Layla’s friend, Ayesha, says, “Hope is basically faith, right? It’s intangible. You literally can’t grasp it.  That’s why it is easier to doubt than believe. That’s why it’s easier to give up than persists. … it actually is important to question, because searching for the answer can strengthen our resolve.  But holding on to hope isn’t easy. It’s work.”  

Best-selling author Samira Ahmed’s work will definitely prompt discussion. Her comments are uncomfortable and harshly critical at times; plus, some of the characters’ actions (meekness of adults, risk-taking of guards, cruelty and physical violence of the Director) can feel unrealistic. However, given actual recent actions of the government like housing undocumented immigrants (including children and babies) under a bridge in ElPaso, it seems essential to foster these discussions. I can envision developing a unit that shares resources like this map of the world’s religions or this list of other books (some for younger readers) advocating social justice.  

INTERNMENT received well-deserved starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, School Library Connection, and School Library Journal. I would like to include many more quotes here, but encourage you to read the entire book instead. Meet the author at 3pm on Sunday, March 31st at 57th Street Books in Chicago.